Machine for marking defective tiles in a sheet and for removing the tiles from the sheet



2,815,844 MACHINE FOR MARKING DEFECTIVE TILES- IN A SHEET AND Dec. 10, 1957 D. s. ROBERTS FOR REMOVING THE TILES FROM THE SHEET Filed Oct. 11. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m M Pyrm Dec. 10, 1957 D. s. ROBERTS 2,815,844

MACHINE FOR MARKING DEFECTIVE TILES IN A SHEET AND FOR REMOVING THE TILES FROM THE SHEET Filed Oct. 11, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent MACHINE FOR MARKING DEFECTIVE TILES IN A SHEET AND FOR REMOVING THE TILES FROM THE SHEET Deering S. Roberts, Marshfield, Mass.

Application October 11, 1955, Serial No. 539,856

3 Claims. (Cl. 19831) This invention relates to a machine for operating on a sheet of thermoplastic material consisting of a mixture of asphalt and other ingredients and suitable for floor tiles. As the sheet is fed forward, rectangular tiles are cut therein in transverse rows and longitudinal columns, the tiles being separated from one another by intervening longitudinal and transverse dividing strips which form a reticulated structure. The machine operates to separate the tiles from the dividing strips. Prior to such separation, the machine detects and marks defective tiles which may occur along the margins of the sheet. After the tiles are removed from the reticular residue, the tiles in each transverse row are moved further apart so as to be more widely separated from one another, and are conveyed to a collecting station for packaging.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof, and to the drawings, of which- Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a sheet in which some tiles have been cut and some are being separated from the residual spacing strips;

Figure 2 is a plan view of mechanism embodying the invention;

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2, on a larger scale;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 4; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the sheet-supporting table with a defective sheet thereon.

In making floor tiles of asphaltic mixtures, the material is heated to the proper consistency and is then rolled into a sheet of substantially uniform thickness. The sheet is then fed to a cutting table where successive transverse rows of rectangular tiles are cut therein, the individual tiles being separated from one another by longitudinal and transverse strips which form a reticulated structure and become scrap material to be re-worked. Sheets of this kind are produced in a continuous length, but the side edges are apt to be more or less irregular. When the tiles are cut, a margin is left along each edge of the sheet so that the outer edges of the tiles are straight and true. Occasionally, however, a side edge of the sheet may have a recess that goes inward beyond the marginal trim and results in a defective tile in the longitudinal row nearest to that edge. One function of the machine is to detect such defective tiles and to mark or otherwise operate thereon to distinguish them conspicuously from the perfeet tiles.

As shown on the drawings, a horizontal table 10 supports a sheet 12 of asphaltic mixture in which rectangular cuts are made by suitable cutters 14 which are vertically reciprocated in the customary manner by means not shown to form tiles 16 in the sheet. Those tiles are arranged in transverse rows and longitudinal columns, the individua1 tiles being separated from one another by dividing strips 18 which extend longitudinally and transversely. These 2,815,844 Patented Dec. 10, 1957 dividing strips form a reticulated structure, as indicated in Figure 1, which becomes scrap material when the tiles have been removed from the sheet. The machine includes suitable side frames, conventionally indicated at 20, for the support of arotatable guide roll 22, a lower conveyor 24, and an upper feed belt 26. The conveyor 24 passes around'suitable rolls, one of which is indicated at 28. The feed belt 26 passes around suitable rolls, one of which is indicated at 30. The reaches of the feed belt 26 are inclined and an inclined plane member 32 is sup ported by the frame under and close to the lower reach of the belt 26. The lower margin of the member 32 is curled downward to form a guide lip 34 to guide the scrap material 18 from the table to enter between the member 32 and the lower reach of the belt 26 which bears on the scrap material and friction-ally drags it upward on the fixed member 32.

Near the delivery end of the table 10 are openings 36 through which fingers 38 extend. The fingers are secured to the under face of the table 10, and the portions that project through the openings are inclined upward toward the member 32 and are arranged to underlie the longitudinal strips of the scrap material 18. As the sheet 12 advances, the tiles 16, having a considerable degree of stiffness, advance straight ahead and fall oil? the delivery end of the table 10 onto a chute 40 which is inclined downward. The scrap material is deflected upward by the fingers 38 to the feed belt 26 which exerts a traction on the scrap material to assist in feeding the sheet 12. As the scrap 18 is drawn upward, the tiles 16 fall downward and slide on the chute 40 to the conveyor 24.

The chute 40 may be made in as many separate units as there are longitudinal columns of tiles. These units are equipped to spread the columns of tiles as they slide down the chute so that the tiles in each transverse row are more widely separated from each other when they reach the conveyor 24 than they were in the sheet. For this purpose each unit of the chute 40 except the middle unit, has an upstanding guide flange 42 on its inner side edge which is at an angle to the axial direction of the chute. These flanges deflect the tiles outward, that is, toward the nearer side edge of the chute as a whole, the amount of deflection being greater for the outer columns of tiles so that when the tiles in a transverse row reach the conveyor 24, they are uniformly spaced from one another but more widely spaced apart than when formed in the sheet 12. If there are an odd number of columns of tiles, e. g., five columns as shown in Figure 2, the tiles in the middle column are not deflected, the middle unit of the chute 40 having side flanges 44 which extend in the axial direction of the machine.

The edges of the asphaltic sheet 12 are usually rough or irregular, these irregular margins being part of the scrap material from which the tiles are separated. At times, an irregularity of an edge of the sheet may be a recess which extends in further than the width of the scrap margin. This results in a defective tile as indicated at 46 in Figures 2 and 5. To detect these defective tiles which occur only in the outer columns, two windows 50 are inlaid in the table, the outer edge of each window being directly below the line of outer edges of the shingles in an outermost column. A suitable light source 52 is mounted below each window 50 and is arranged to project a beam of light up through the window toward a photo-electric element 54 mounted directly above the window. The arrangement is such that unblemished tiles, together with the adjacent dividing scrap material, intercept the light beams. If a tile has a defective edge, light is permitted to reach the element 54 which is electrically connected in the usual manner to some device responsive to excitation of the element 54 to operate a signal of some kind or to mark the defective tile conspicuously. A device for projecting a spot of dye onto the tile passing.

beneath the photo-electric element is indicated at 58. The tiles thus marked can readily be picked out by an operator at the delivery end of the conveyor 24.

I claim: H

1. Mechanism for separating rectangular tiles from a sheet of asphaltic material in which rows and'columns of tiles have been cut with dividing strips between successive rows and columns; comprising a horizontal table for said sheet having a delivery end, a downwardly inclined chute extending from said delivery end of the table, a horizontal guide roll extending transversely of said table near said delivery end, spaced fingers sloping upward beyond said guide roll for deflecting said dividing strips upward from the plane of said table, and driven feed means for engaging the upwardly deflected strips and exerting a tension thereon.

2. Mechanism as in claim 1, said chute having up- References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,257,853 Hansen Feb. 26, 1918 2,148,379 McFarland Feb. 21, 1939 2,153,296 Brogden Apr. 4, 1939 2,508,083 Winkler May 16, 1950 2,612,852 Morrison Oct. 7, 1952 2,617,528 Moore Nov. 11, 1952 2,645,343 Nemir July 14, 1953 

